U.S. Supreme Court to review Wilkes & McHugh case

November 7, 2016 – Media Mention

Bloomberg BNA

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The United States Supreme Court has agreed to review of Kindred Nursing Ctrs. LP v. Clark, a case that "presents the question whether state contract law can prevent nursing homes from forcing arbitration on relatives of former residents who bring wrongful death claims and other allegations." Though attorneys quoted in the article aren't entirely clear why the Court is interested in this case, the heart of the issue is the mandatory arbitration clause that nursing homes include in admission paperwork to force residents and their families to take any complaints they may have to arbitration rather than trial.

In Clark, the Kentucky Supreme Court agreed with a state court that a resident’s representative can’t agree to an arbitration clause and give up the right to a jury trial unless the resident expressly gave the representative that right. The courts denied Kindred's motion to compel arbitration, and Kindred appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.